If a service is grayed out, it may mean that a service in not available 24/7 or there are a few services that are dependent on third party sites (including non-BC sites). Agora Portal checks all these sites every 3 minutes and if a site is slow or not responding, then the service is temporarily grayed out for 3 minutes or until the site is available again.

Enter current information in the appropriate field. You must enter your Password at the bottom of the page and click on the Submit address update/confirmation button.

All address/phone information is updated immediately and will be reflected in the BC Directory.

3. My work number is incorrect and the Agora Portal will not let me correct it.

Since Boston College has converted to PeopleSoft, automatic phone correction is not always possible. Contact your Technology Consultant (TC). Explain to your TC what you are trying to do in the Agora Portal and the error message. Your TC will reclaim the phone number in question and it can then be assigned to you.

4. Why don't I appear in the Directory Search?

There are a couple of reasons why you may not be appearing in the BC Directory Search:

If you have not set your Privacy Preferences yet. The University believes that it is better to err on the side of keeping information from the public rather that giving information to the public prior to your Privacy Preferences being established. BC requires that you review and confirm the information and the privacy indicators first. Once that has been accomplished, your information will be released the General Public and BC Community (after signing in to Agora Portal) based on what you specified in your Privacy Preferences.

You have set your Privacy Preferences; however, you have opted for Total Non-Disclosure. This option makes you "invisible" to Boston College.

5. What is Total Non-Disclosure?

Total Non-Disclosure Explained

Faculty and Staff: The BC Human Resources Department requires work-related information (title, email address, work address and work or departmental phone number) be displayed in the BC Directory available to members of the BC Community who have signed in with their username and password. All information may be made unavailable to the general public. Employees who have extenuating circumstances, which in their opinion, warrants suppression of any of the work-related information described above, should contact Robert J. Lewis in the Human Resources Department at 617-552-1272 or robert.lewis.3@bc.edu.

Students: Total Non-Disclosure is an option available to BC students within Privacy Preferences, which allows you to conceal your identity from the rest of the BC Community and from the general public beyond BC. For those who choose this option, BC will take exceptional measures to deny knowledge of your existence to others. This service is not without its disadvantages. Some implications of selecting this option follow:

Neither your name nor details about you will show in electronic and print directories.

BC telephone operators will have no information about you or record of you at Boston College. Anyone calling the university, trying to contact you, will not be able to reach you unless you have told them your phone number.

Your Email address will differ from the normal format. It will be "username@bc.edu". Mail sent to "firstname.lastname.#@bc.edu" will be rejected. Therefore, you will need to notify others of your address if you want to receive mail from them.

Some of your information will be available to select administrators and faculty, strictly for business purposes. Your instructors will be given your voicemail number, email address, photo, school, and class year.

Selecting "No" on Total Non-Disclosure and suppressing every individual item of information is not the same thing as selecting "Yes" on Total Non-Disclosure. The University will only be able to release your name to internal inquiries and will tell the inquirer that you have suppressed your information.

6. How can I get an email address? Why don't I have an email address?

If your email address is blank, then you do not have a Boston College email address.

To request an BC email address, follow these steps:

Select the My Services tab.

Under the Common Services category and the Email Services subcategory, click on Address/Alias Settings.

Enter your password and click on the Request Email Account button. Please allow up to 24 hours for your account to be created.

7. Why am I not receiving any email?

It could be that you have suppressed your email account. Please read about how suppressing your email account can affect you (above).

8. What happens when I suppress my email address?

If you elect to suppress your amail address, your address will not appear in any printed or online directories, nor will it show up in directory searches.

14. How can I request a new Long Distance Access Code PIN if I think someone else knows it?

The Long Distance Access Code (LDAC) allows faculty and staff to call long distance for business purposes. If you think the security of your LDAC has been compromised, call the Help Center at 617-552-HELP (4357) to get it changed immediately. LDAC’s are randomly generated. You cannot choose the numbers for your LDAC.

15. How can I make a long distance call from my office or residence hall?